Dreamscapes
by FutanariIsFail
Summary: Rufus finds himself trapped within dream levels with Marceline. Lulz ensue (at least, on The Lich's end of things)


All seemed quaint and without disturbance in the dark of night, as young Rufus lay asleep, peaceful for once in his life. Rest was something he valued so much, yet made so little use of. It was as if every second he spent dreaming was another page in a logbook of subconscious endeavors. However, that coveted rejuvenation was harshly interrupted by what seemed to be a loud explosion in Finn and Jake's yard. Rufus immediately sprung off of the sofa and went out to investigate, hoping for it to be none more than a meteor shower gone awry or airmail mishaps. Little did he know, a familiar face would be there to greet him.

There she was. She appeared to be none other than Marceline Abadeer, the Vampire Queen who's ever keen on the unseen. She coughed as the smoke cleared from the explosion, and to Rufus's surprise, her attire was unlike anything he had seen from her before. Frowzy hair, an eyepatch, a black, torn jumpsuit, and for some reason, she was manning a harpoon. She caught her breath, and said to our hero, "Hello, Rufus." She then lit a cigarette and continued, "Surprised to see me?" Rufus then rubbed his eyes and said to her, "Wait.. what? Is there something I need to know?" Marceline then said, "Finn and Jake are asleep, right?" Rufus replied, "Yeah." Marceline continued, "Good. No good in them overhearing this." She then said, "Listen, in the not-too-distant future, something bad will happen." Rufus then raised his hand nonchalantly. Marceline sighed. "Yes, Rufus?" He then said, "If I'm supposed to know about a bad thing happening in the future, shouldn't my future self be telling me this, and not you? And if you're supposed to deliver the bad news, why doesn't present Marceline know about this? Am I dreaming?" Rufus then realized he was dreaming. "Oh snap, I am dreaming! Ah yeah, lucid dreaming!" He then summoned a confetti blast, and laid out a banner in mid-air that said "Lucid Dreaming!" as invisible noisemakers went off. Marceline then angrily snapped her fingers and woke Rufus up. He then groaned in disappointment and rose from his spot on the couch, ready to make a journal entry of this wonderful experience. Just as he picked up his book and dipped his quill pen, Marceline came to his side once more.

"Rufus, you-" Rufus then replied, "What's this? I'm still dreaming?" Marceline angrily interjected, "Listen to me! I-" Rufus followed, "Oh my glob, a false awakening... and I'm aware of it... egads, they called me crazy, but look who's laughing now! Oh, thank you, Marceline, or, should I say, subconscious manifestation of Marceline? How could I ever repay you?" He then hugged Marceline tightly, only for her to snap her fingers once more and have Rufus appear back on the couch. Rufus, half-awake, did a reality check to make sure he was still dreaming. He was able to telepathically control nearby objects, and was able to levitate his body, as well as create matter and alter his surroundings. It appeared that the future version of Marceline was only able to speak to Rufus via his dreams, and was creating dream levels so as to maintain contact with Rufus. Rufus then rose from his couch once more and said, "Look Marcy, I'm sorry. I'll listen to whatever you have to say, no funny business." Marceline's voice replied, "Good." Rufus listened closely. "The future is grim. The only way to ensure all is right in the yet to come is to enter the Time Room and speak to the Almighty Prismo." Rufus scratched his head in confusion, baffled by how demanding the comment was. "Prismo?" he beckoned. "Yes, Prismo." Marceline then manifested herself in Finn and Jake's living room and removed her black trenchcoat, which was not present previously, laying it on top of Finn and Jake's coffee table and laying her hand upon Rufus's forehead. She rebuked, "Reapers. I don't like the looks of this." Rufus interjected, "What about the Reapers? And Prismo?" Marceline replied, "Don't get worked up, Rufus. It'd be a shame if curiosity got the best of you." Rufus squinted his eyes in disbelief. "You feeling okay?" Marceline then grabbed hold of one of Rufus's scimitar daggers, feeling along the edge of the blade, grasping it in her hand, and said to Rufus, "Don't worry... it's only a dream..." before holding it high above her head and lunging it into Rufus's abdomen, propelling him into a state of fear and sending him down a dream level. He found himself not in Finn and Jake's living room, but rather, Marceline's house. He looked around, making sure he was where he thought he was, and administered the reality checks once more, further confirming he was still dreaming.

What appeared to be a future incarnation of Rufus was apparently in the act of doing what Marceline was about to do to him in his previous dream, only using a blade manifested from Reaper power jutting out of his hand, which had as of recently been Rufus's preferred method of improvising weaponry. Just before this version of Rufus could commit the unspeakable act, Rufus pushed him against the adjacent wall with great force and tested to see if his Reaper powers worked at this dream level, which, to his relief, they did. He gathered up a strong aura in the entire room, and put the three of them into a deep sleep, ascending them one dream level. Now, they were in a gem factory, one that appeared to be in a far-off land that few people in all of Ooo had ever thought to inhabit. This alternate Rufus, which spoke in a different voice, much like a typical thug, threw his fist into his open palm, cracking his knuckles, and said, "Forget it, the past is the past." He then disappeared in a flash of smoke, leaving behind, for some reason, a typewriter. Rufus picked it up, looking upon it with great intrigue, and said to himself, "Hmm. This might come in handy for my studies." Marceline then yelled angrily to him, "Rufus! What the heck is going on?" Rufus then lowered his hands steadily and calmly, trying to ease the mood. He replied, "Marceline... we're in a dream right now." Marceline froze right in her tracks, and stared at Rufus rather blankly. "Yes, I know, it's confusing, but we may be in a dream, within a dream. I... lost track. All I know is, something bad's happening in the future, and Prismo wants me to come to him, and the Reapers may or may not be involved. And someone or something evil may or may not be posing as you." Marceline continued staring. "You understand?" Marceline then replied, "Yeah, yeah, I understand. Just... where are we in the dream world?" "I don't know," said Rufus. "All I know is... we're not in mainland Ooo anymore." Rufus then noticed a stairwell all the way across the room, decorated with gemstones and posters. He addressed Marceline casually, "Wanna investigate?" The two of them marched on over to the stairwell, getting more and more tired with each step. Before they could even take the first step, they were struggling to stay awake where they stood, and could barely move without stumbling. It should go without saying that the two crashed into slumber right there on the factory floor, and thus, they ascended one dream level. Rufus, upon awakening in the next dream level, shouted, "No! Not another dream level!" Marceline, groaning, pushed herself up and asked Rufus, "What's the score, anyway?" Rufus thought about it for a few seconds, making sure he was well aware of this subconscious hellhole that he had gotten himself into. "Let's see... I fell asleep in the waking world, then you caused a false awakening, then you caused another false awakening, then there was yet another false awakening, then I sent us up another level, then we fell asleep... I got nothing." Marceline then said to Rufus, "Since we both know we're dreaming... can't we alter the dream to our liking?" Rufus replied, "Too dangerous! You don't want to mess with the dreamscape. But since desperate times call for desperate measures, we must do whatever we can to make sure that fake me doesn't go messing up stuff!"

The two of them then altered the landscape from typical Ooo affair into a vast, open desert. Rufus and Marceline then ascended to the highest point they could possibly reach, scanning the entirety of the realm for the false Rufus, to no avail. Marceline asked Rufus, "Wait... if we wake up, that means that a dream level gets destroyed, and the bad guys get destroyed with the dream level, right? Why don't we just keep waking up until we're back in the real world?" Rufus then exclaimed, "No! You don't understand! It's not that simple! He may not exist in the dream world, but he could very well be in our world! But since this is a desperate time..." With that in mind, a dream level they descended. They were back in the gem factory, things were as they seemed, save for the giant cheese wheel inexplicably in the hall. Another dream level they descended so, back in Marceline's house. After this, they descended another dream level, only to be exactly where they were before, in Marceline's house. Marceline then yelled to Rufus, "What's the big idea? I thought we were waking up, not staying where we were!" Rufus replied, "I... I don't know what happened. I think we might be using up too much... energy? Power? Something with a 'dream' label on it. Might need to recharge." Just then, Rufus's evil half, a piece of his soul intertwined with a piece of the Lich's soul, as well as fragments of Archimedes's being within Rufus, manifested, phasing out from his skull and making his name in his subconscious. "Greetings." Rufus, in agony and awe, yelled to him, "You! I thought I did away with you!" He then lay himself on Marceline's couch and said to him cunningly, "You merely vanquished me from the mortal realm. I still rest within you. Until you have awakened yourself, my torment will go on." Rufus then focused the Reaper energy within his head and scattered his evil half's aura all throughout the room, only for it to perfectly reform into what it was before. Neither Marceline nor Rufus being aware, bright light flashed, and the two of them found themselves back upwards one dream level. "What's huh?" Rufus's evil half then said to him, "I can manipulate dreams and dreamscapes, too, you know."

"What's your beef with us?" said Marceline to the evil half, who then levitated himself out of his recliner and transformed the room around him into an planetarium-like isometric grid. He then lamented, "I want vengeance! I want to wreak havoc once more! I am chaos, and I am all that is disharmonic and unruly. I am... the Lich!" Rufus yelled to him, "No, you're not. You're just a piece of his soul that took a wrong turn into a spirit child." A grizzly, menacing voice then calmly stated, "Oh, but he has a point, Rufus." It was none other than the Doombringer himself, who had manifested in Rufus's dream due to the utter discord of the dream levels and their instability. "Go ahead, Rufus. Fall asleep. Go deeper in the dream levels. I'm not stopping you. You look tired. Surely you could use rest after all you've been through." Rufus began to feel weary and crashed to his knees, catching his breath as his eyes grew heavier. "No, Lich. I think I'll wake up now." The Lich then clamored, "What's the use? You've got a good number of dream levels to wake up from. But, if it means so much... I'll give you a choice." Rufus listened in. "I destroy the fragment and allow my mayhem to continue in this dreamscape, or you destroy me and all is well, save for the voices in your head." Rufus scoffed. "Not all the voices in my head are bad voices. I've got friends on the other side, you know." "Oh?" said The Lich. "You mean the Reapers?" He chuckled. "Have you forgotten who I am? Their power is none but mere magic tricks compared to my evildoing." Marceline then rebutted, "Illusions, Lichy. Tricks are what harlots do for money." Lich and Rufus then simultaneously slapped their respective palms upon their faces. Lich then droned, "Um..." He continued, "As I was saying, your little friends, even all together as one massive army could not withstand me. As I recall, a couple hundred of them could not even withstand you." Rufus then lifted himself up from the ground and charged at The Lich in anger. "Uh-uh, Rufus. Your little fit of rage from past guilt could be the end of you. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Rufus then rebuked, "I had no choice! Destiny cannot be fought, nor is there any use getting around it!" Lich then held Rufus's face in his hand and said to him, "Now why would the Reapers allow such a troublesome child to be their greatest and most powerful? Surely, the prophecy would have an explanation for that. Ah, mortals and their pesky religions. It truly was the end of them." Rufus then crossed his legs and levitated himself, focusing his Reaper energy and allowing his subconscious mind to awake. Down a dream level they went, with the Lich nowhere to be found. Marceline then casually stated, "Sure am glad to have that weirdo off our tail." Rufus then grabbed Marceline's hand and said to her, "Hold on now. We're about to go through all the dream levels, back into reality. It's going to be a bumpy ride, now. Just empty your mind and don't let anything get to you." He then focused his Reaper energy once more and as it seemed, they were going through a pseudo-hyperspace, their subconscious bodies flowing through Rufus's neurons like wind, with any and every individual thing around them simply vanishing into nothingness, an intense sensation beyond all belief and incomprehensible to mere waking beings. There Rufus was, in the familiar living room, in the dead of night. All seemed normal. He turned to his alarm clock, but noticed that it was earlier from when he had last been awake, around 1:14 AM. The clock read 12:50 AM. He lifted the clock radio off of its stand in disbelief, placing it down in utter shock and checking his hands to make sure he was not still in a dream level. He then rose from his sofa bed and went up to Finn and Jake's room. He took notice of the sleeping Finn, and poked him with a stick that laid on their bedroom floor. Finn slowly opened his eyes and noticed his older brother standing before him. Tired, he uttered, "Oh, hey Rufus. You finally awake?" Rufus lowered his eyebrows. "Finally?" Finn rolled over in his sleeping bag, trying to get back to sleep. "Yeah, you've been asleep all day and all night. You were in real deep sleep, like you wouldn't wake up, no matter what we did, so we just left you to sleep." Rufus replied, "I'm not dreaming right now?" The grizzly voice of the Lich uttered from the snail perching upon Finn and Jake's window, "No, Rufus. This time, it's for real." Rufus drew forth an astral dagger from his hand and uttered, "Lich!" Lich then chuckled casually and said to Rufus, "Now, now. This was just a prank. Just because I'm evil doesn't mean I can't have lighthearted fun every now and then. You boys get some rest, now. I'm off to LSD Kingdom to blend in." He then slithered away as a snail normally would. Rufus then sheathed his astral dagger and sighed. He then hung his nehru jacket on Finn and Jake's door and ventured back to the sofa, paying no mind to anything in life but the nature of things, as it seemed life was to him now, and for the most part, was all it ever would be.

Just then, Rufus awoke from yet another dream level, gasping. He was in Princess Bubblegum's bedroom for some reason, and began to exit the room in pure disbelief, using his lucid dreaming abilities to make sure he was truly awake. Again, none of them seemed to work. Just then, Princess Bubblegum yelled from the master bathroom, "Rufus, honey, get back to bed. You've had a long day." Rufus, shocked yelled, "PB? We're married?" Princess Bubblegum then sat on the bed, entering the covers, and said to him, "Why, of course we are. You feeling okay?" Peppermint Butler then knocked on the door, which Rufus answered questionably. The Lich's voice said to him once more, "Hi again, Rufus. Yeah, I always got a trick or two up my sleeve. Sorry about that." He then awoke Rufus once more, allowing him to find himself in the Time Room. Prismo said to Rufus, "Hey... buddy... you alright? You look cold." He then summoned a cup of hot cocoa, smothered in smooth, decadent whipped cream and aromatic, coarse cinnamon granules, and offered it to Rufus. Rufus said to Prismo, "How did I get here?" Prismo replied, "Well, you see..." and instantaenously, Rufus was in his abandoned childhood home, which was in total darkness, with hallways giving an eery, unsettling echo, and mice chattering noisily across the floorboards. Rufus then slowly rubbed his hand on his sweating forehead, utterly confused and nervous due to how plain and simply out of hand this dreaming experience was. He then laid his head on his pillow, hoping to escape this enigma, only for the Lich, now in the form of a mouse, saying to him, "Sorry, Rufus. I promise, this is the last dream level, then, back to your own reality." It was so. Rufus was shuddering, shouting even, on the sofa, with Finn and Jake by his side. Finn then yelled to him, "Wake up! It's just a bad dream! It's us, Finn and Jake!" Rufus then rolled his eyes over to his two brothers and sighed deeply. The clock read 6:59 AM. Rufus watched the clock deeply, hoping for the next minute to roll by normally and without any oddities. There it was, seven o'clock, and the alarm clock blared loudly. Rufus hit the snooze, nodded determinedly, and rose from his sofa. He then said to Finn and Jake, "How long was I out?" Jake replied, "Two days, man. Two days. In fact, you're starting to stink a little, too. Take a shower or something, that's just nasty, you know?" Rufus breathed in deeply. "It warms my heart to hear your constant reminders. It's moments like those I live for." Jake replied, "You okay?" Rufus then grabbed his nehru jacket off of Finn's door, put it on, and said to Jake, "Never better, Jake. Never better." Deep within Princess Bubblegum's containment facility for The Lich, The Lich thought to himself, "I love mortals sometimes. The way they respond to all my shenanigans just puts a big smile on my face. Too bad I'm going to have to wipe them all out one of these days.."

So ends our story, and so begins my confusion. I think. Have a nice day. 


End file.
